Hellmouth Series: Scarlet River
by Buffkin
Summary: Lock and his Hunters prepare for a last ditch stand against Ophelia, a battle that certain members aren't sure is worth fighting for...
1. Hellmouth Series: Scarlet River, Part 1

"Scarlet River, Part 1"  
  
Hellmouth Series #1  
  
By: Bryan Buffkin  
  
Cold, crisp air is warmed by the crackle of candles lighting the outside patio area of the beautiful top-notch restaurant in the upper-class side of downtown Cleveland. Beautiful people in expensive dress from designers they would probably never care to meet sit and eat delicious food, content with what life has dealt them, most of them oblivious to the normal hardships that come with financial strain. All except one particular man, who ironically happens to be seated in the middle of them all; a man who ironically happens to be the only one amongst them standing up proudly, champagne glass raised. Because the proudest thing about this man is the fact that this dinner will efficiently wipe out what few funds he has left.  
  
"Ladies and gentlemen, if I can have your attention for just one moment," the proud man proclaimed, "I would like to announce that tonight is our three month anniversary… um… month-aversary… no… anyways, tonight my lady and I are celebrating three wonderful months together. And I just wanted to say that I couldn't imagine my life any happier then it is right now with her…"  
  
"…For God's sake Nicholas please…" retorted the embarrassed girlfriend, rather venomous in her tone. With wide, child-like eyes he finished, "I love you, honey…" She tugged on his suit jacket and pulled him down viciously. He gave her a cock-eyed but still loving look, a gesture implying that he thought she was kidding. She waved courteously to the crowd of people, their attention still on the loving couple in applause. Once everything subsided, he asked, "Is everything okay? That wasn't the reaction I saw in my mind last night when I thought about what I was gonna say and…"  
  
"Nicholas, where do you see this going?"  
  
"Well, I rented a romantic comedy, so I was hoping back to my couch, and, you know…"  
  
"Think long term. Where are we going to be in two months?"  
  
"I dunno. Why?" He seemed childishly confused.  
  
"Are we still gonna be in Cleveland, Nick?" With a sad look in his eyes, he opened his mouth to speak but found himself cut off when she continued, "Nick, you told me three months ago when you finished that national commercial that we would be looking up from there and that we'd be in L.A. by now."  
  
"My Laundry-Man bit was ground-breaking, Tiff."  
  
"Laundry what? You played a dead-beat college guy who spilled mustard on his shirt before a date and had to get out the stain with that crappy detergent. I don't think you're getting a return call, Nick."  
  
"Look, if this is about the bill, we don't have to go Dutch… I'm pretty sure I haven't maxed-out this card yet…"  
  
"No, Nick, it isn't that… I just don't think this is working."  
  
A few miles away and light-years outside of this conversation, two friends talk over walkie-talkies on their cell phones, "Lock, we got news. The bad kind."  
  
"Oh gawd… you missed him?"  
  
"If we're talkin specifics, then yes. But technically, we got jumped. The guy's sire showed with a few sets of fangs…"  
  
"Anybody hurt?"  
  
Back at the restaurant, what was simply a low-tone let-down has now raised into a scene. "Look, Nick, there isn't anything you can say. You promised me the world and didn't come through. What do you expect? You've broken my trust…"  
  
"Tiffany, I've been as good a boyfriend as I can be. Things just didn't pan out like I thought…"  
  
"We've been together for three months now, Nick. You should know by now that I deserve better than good." She stood from the table and looked down at him. "I'm sorry Nick." She turned and left. Now frantic and confused, he rose from the table: "Tiffany please, wait…" In one sudden movement, a tall, muscular man stood tall between Nicholas and his target, blocking the way. "You heard her, man. She gave her peace. Let her go." The man was incredibly handsome, though slightly pale. He had a distinct odor about him; it was rich enough to know but vague enough to be just beyond memory. Nicholas thought it odd that the man had traces of dirt on his nice suit pants, though it had been obvious that he had a chance to wash most of it out, and that he had taken off his tie but kept his gloves on, while dark splotches stained the cuffs on his dress shirt. The soothing punch of the words out of the stranger's mouth aroused Tiffany in the strangest of ways, causing her to turn and watch the scene.  
  
Now only a short distance away, the cell phone conversation kept on. "Okay Lock, the guy rose, and just as we got ready, the sire and co jumped us. You and Larson called it man. That guy's definitely got something to do with the rising tonight."  
  
"But nobody got hurt, right?"  
  
"Just our pride. We dusted two but the rest got away after the mark hit it."  
  
"Where's he at?"  
  
"Headed southeast. He's either moonlightin it or headin towards them fancy restaurants over there. Either way, he's gotta feed."  
  
"I'm closer. I'll hit the city. Call Jules and tell her to get the rest of the Axe units over with you and try to get a tail on that sire. I'll bet anything he'll lead us to the rising."  
  
A silence has now fallen over the crowd of people as they watch the large handsome man demean the man they just applauded. The large stranger knelt in and whispered, "She deserves better. Hell, she said it herself." With a wicked, player smile he raised his voice to normal pitch. "Don't worry, man. I'll make sure she gets home safe. Go ahead and have a drink." Nicholas, heart-broken, had nothing left he could do. The handsome stranger turned and left, Tiffany at his side.   
  
When they were a few steps outside the restaurant, Tiffany began the dramatics: "Thank you so much. He is way too attached. I mean, three months and he was ready to drop to a knee. If you weren't here he'd be haunting me all the way home. Now I have to go home and unplug my answering machine." He looked at her from the back as she prepped her hair back into good standings, as if the restaurant scene had left her in shambles. He smiled, his face changing slowly. "I'm just glad you allowed me to walk you home, miss," he spoke as his forehead began to tighten, protruding into ridges above his flattening nostrils. His eyes began to glow a golden yellow as his canine teeth grew in inches, "You know the city can be pretty dangerous at night."   
Several minutes passed. Nicholas just got notice that those last two Gin and Tonics had officially maxed-out the card, and he felt tears swell up as he realized he had to go after her. He stood, and the bartender grabbed his arm, "Hey man, you gotta show a little dignity. She's gone man. Save some face…" Nicholas released the man's grasp and with the last bit of dignity he had left, he said, "That was the third credit card I maxed this week and the last one I had left. I'm in debt up to my eyebrows, I've got one more extension left on rent, and the only good thing I have in my life right now is a hot girlfriend. I'll be damned before I give that up." He marched from the bar after them.  
  
He made it two blocks down where he remembered she had parked her car. He saw them. Making out. God, she had no shame, he thought. First hot guy to come along and walk her to her car, and she's up in his pants. He felt the tears coming again as he stepped closer, hoping to make a scene, maybe do something to make her realize that she was doing the wrong thing. His feet crunched atop the lipstick that had fallen out of her purse, one of many items that were strewn about, something that he hadn't noticed beforehand. The sound stirred the stranger who turned. The golden eyes pierced Nicholas to the core, but the first thing the terrified young man noticed was the blood dripping from the beast's mouth and chin, the same blood running down his lover's neck. The look in her eyes was clear now, lifeless. As was her body, which fell limp when the beast released her and turned his attentions towards him. "You should have stuck to the drinks, boy. I told you that I would take care of her."   
  
Nicholas wanted to say something. Some clever retort that would anger the beast, maybe even throw him off-balance. Nick was too caught up in the fact that this… thing… was moving even closer. He expected at least some ill memories to start flashing now, but instead saw a flash of shattering glass rupture the side of the beast's face. The beast reared back, his face smoking, a scream coming from deep within him, maiming Nick's already fragile memories. One man jumped in front of Nick, apparently wielding what looked like a modified crossbow. The firing arrow pierced the monster's shoulder. The monster stopped flailing and began to concentrate a bit, tearing the jagged arrow from his shoulder. A second man came in. Nicholas recognized him from somewhere, but couldn't put a finger on it until the man brought forth the roundhouse kick from hell into the beast's face. That's right, he remembered, I saw that guy in one of those third rate kung-fu movies they show during Sunday afternoons. A third, Hispanic guy stepped in. He delivered some pretty nice punch and duck moves, and attempted to swipe the beast with a short sword he pulled out of his side holster. The beast took a swipe at him instead, clearing him a few yards through the air. The movie guy screamed "Antoine" and moved behind the beast to his fallen friend. The first guy with the crossbow dropped his weapon and pulled out what looked to be a wooden stake. Nicholas thought he might be heavily into camping or something while the stake-wielder with the distinctive black hair that was just long enough to hang over his face jumped into the beast. They traded blows and blocks and reversals, until the stronger, bulkier monster knocked the black-haired man back towards Nicholas. The beast gathered itself and looked closer at him with intent, until he pulled another glass container out, with what looked to be water or something. Maybe acid, Nicholas thought, as it shattered again against the monster's face. It began to howl again, when Nick noticed Antoine back on his feet with the movie guy by his side. They charged and rammed the howling animal in the back, forcing it rumbling towards Nicholas. Nick let out a high-pitched wail of terror as the beast sped towards him. In the last second before impact, the black-haired guy stepped in and placed the flat end of the stake against the right side of Nick's chest, pointy-end out. The monster hit Nicholas at full impact, and exploded into dust. A moment of silence ensued. Nicholas checked his pants for urination, and after thorough investigation, inhaled.  
  
"Um… what the…?" Nick stammered.   
  
"…hell was that? Vampire," the black-haired man said nonchalantly.   
  
"Geez, Lock," Antoine began, "Look, man, that was just a bad dude. Dangerous in these parts. Best go on home now…"  
  
"But nice scream, pal," Lock added, "Real blonde, female horror movie material, there."  
  
The black-haired man raised his cell phone and pressed the "walkie-talkie" button on it and spoke: "Gene, the mark is down. Where you at?" The cell phone beeped and a responding voice came in: "Small empty warehouse in the hills past the stadium. Not pretty, Lock. About twelve fangs and some bad mystic crap sittin in the center of some kind of symbol. My axe units just showed, but I called Jules and told her to prep the Coven Unit. We need you over this way man."  
  
What kind of a name is Lock, Nick thought as confusion was wearing away his sanity. Lock replied into the phone, "I'm ten minutes out. DO NOT make a move until I show or until you absolutely have to. I already had Antoine take a nasty shot, and I'm not gonna see anymore." Lock got off the phone and turned impatiently towards Nicholas. "Alright man, I understand that you're a little confused right now, but the best thing for you to do is… come with us."  
  
Nicholas' heart sank with his jaw. "What are you talking about Lock? He can't come with us."   
  
"He'd better," Lock responded, his face contorting to a rather serious and frightened look as he began to turn and run, "cuz I don't think he wants to hang around here." Nicholas turned to see a pack of these beasts… these vampires… begin to give chase themselves. Antoine grabbed his arm and the four began a dead sprint towards the trees in the west.   
  
"Five of 'em," Lock yelled through exasperated breathing, "Antoine, whadda ya got for us?"  
  
"I've got two hellfire bombs…" Antoine choked out in mid sprint.  
  
"Throw 'em. We can outrun three of them easier."  
  
In a fluid motion not breaking stride, Antoine pivoted on one foot and chucked two marble-like balls from his hand. The two marbles flew through the air, eventually hitting two of the vampires. Upon impact, the marbles burst, erupting into a fluid, lava-like fiery substance. Within seconds of burning, the vampires fell to the pavement and burst into dust, just like the one Lock staked. Three remained, but they were obviously gaining ground with speeds like Olympic sprinters. Lock turned just like Antoine had, and fluidly let off a bolt from his crossbow. This time his aim was true, and the bolt pierced the vampire's left breast, itself bursting into dust. It occurred to Nicholas that this was probably something that these guys have practiced on more than one occasion. Lock gave a loud order to Antoine to pull sword and go for the neck, something that didn't please Nicholas' ears in the least. Antoine pulled his short broadsword from it's holster, reverse-pivoted, and lunged at the sprinting vampire on the right. In the quickest, most powerful motion Nick's ever seen, Antoine decapitated the vampire, at which time the beast turned to dust. Jamie (the karate guy, as Nick just remembered his name from the movie) turned and started trading quick blows with the last remaining vampire. The vampire took a hard swing, one that Jamie rolled under to the vampire's backside and donkey-kicked it towards Nick. Nick, flustered, extended his elbow in self defense and ended up putting the vampire on it's backside. Seeing the vampire downed, his memories flashed to moments ago, seeing his beautiful (ex)-girlfriend being eaten. EATEN? he thought, bothered by how gross and yet how accurate the term was being taken in his mind. Nick shook his head and tears came to his eyelids. In the last few minutes, the whole world became a darker place. No darker than his apartment after the electricity was shut off last month; no darker than the three bounced checks since his checking account dried up last week. But this is a different dark. Not a depressing, lonely dark, but a violent, terrifying side. Nick's eyes glossed over in red as he dropped to his knees, straddling the demon laying dormant on the ground. Nicholas began flailing like his original assailant, focusing the strikes on the face of the demon beneath him. His soul erupted, and his anger brought forth fresh life within him. An accepting life, not afraid of the darkness, at least not while it is unconscious and below him. Jamie, Lock, and Antoine ran over and watched Nick mercilessly tear into the vampire. Their smiles eventually faded to pity for the vampire as minutes rolled by into the beating. Jamie and Antoine grabbed Nicholas and pulled him up, shaking him a bit and putting distance between him and the beast. Nick eventually caught his senses and steadied himself.  
  
"Well think about it this way, ya bastard, at least you wont have to wake up and feel the beating you just took," Lock said to the fallen demon, finally putting a stake into it's chest.   
  
The four made it to their destination, the van parked in the woods. As they rode towards the stadium, they gave Nick a tight-fitting, thick shirt that they said would help. Nick realized that they were all wearing the long-sleeve, mock-turtle neck shirt, which was uncomfortable but surprisingly light and cool given its thickness and black color. Lock gave a few introductions and hesitatingly gave a quick overview of what all was going down. Something to do with a "rising" of some kind, and that the vamp that attacked him was supposedly a sacrifice, but now they would just sacrifice one of their own, possibly the sire that got away from some guy named "Gene." Nicholas inquired as to what a sire was, and Jamie explained that it was the maker of a vampire, that if vamp "A" met person "B" and turned that person into a vampire, vamp "A" would be vamp "B" 's sire.   
  
"Does that mean my girlfriend that got bit back there is gonna be a vampire?" Nick choked out.  
  
"Naw… she's just dead. You see, to make a vampire, it has to suck a human's blood until the person is ALMOST dead, and right before it's heart stops, the person has to suck the vampire's blood," Lock said with little-to-no feeling.  
  
"Whole big-sucky thing," Jamie added.  
  
A moment of silence festered in the air for the last five minutes of the ride towards the stadium. Once there, Jamie and Antoine grabbed two crossbows similar to Lock's and charged out. Nick followed them to a spot where nine guys with large, medieval-like axes stood hiding behind the warehouse.   
  
"Who the hell's this guy?" the black guy, apparently in charge of this axe group, blatantly exclaimed.  
  
"He got drug along. What's the count now?" Lock asked.  
  
"Seventeen fangs, one big ugly demon guy," he replied. This must be that Gene guy, Nicholas thought.  
  
"Damn, this is big. Where's the coven?"  
  
"They aint shown yet."  
  
"We don't have time to wait for them," Lock began delegating, "Axe units- line up against the door. We've got the bows, so we'll get an early jump first from the window up there. Abbits, you two are in charge of Axe units while Gene is with me, so when you start seeing vamps dusting, start the attack. Antoine and Jamie, me and Gene are gonna focus in on the demon so you two are in charge of watching our backs. And you," pointing to Nicholas, "Don't get killed. And if a guy with fangs offers you to drink some of his blood, politely decline."  
  
"Here, take this. I'm gonna be doin some experimentin…" Gene handed Nick his big axe as he pulled out what looked to be a modified, sawed-off shotgun.   
  
"Gene, do you really think a situation like this is where you need to be field-testing wooden-tipped bullets?" Lock asked, a wicked smile forming on his face.  
  
"No time better than the present, especially when you can get them to spread like a real shotgun blast like I did yesterday. Now I don't have to aim for the heart and I'll still nail it," Gene replied, and that got a chuckle from the crowd, all except Nick, who was hesitantly absorbing it all. Less than a minute later, all the players where in place and the crossbows were aimed. Nicholas stumbled around and into line with the axe units. He wondered for a second why he didn't just head back to van, or get out of there altogether. He shook to the spine when he thought about all the things he now KNOWS creep in the dark, and thought he would be better off with people he knew could defend themselves.  
  
The next few moments happened too quickly for everything to absorb coherently in Nick's head. Glass shattered as crossbow bolts broke the windows up top. Stirring inside began as Nick noticed three things inside burst into dust through the small windows on the front door. The two black twins in the front, apparently the Abbits that Lock singled out earlier, screamed loudly and knocked the doors in. The sheer violence of the activities taking place on the inside was unbearable to the weak-stomached Nick. He felt waves of nausea flow through him as he watched another axe-wielder get his arm broken completely at the elbow right in front of him. Instincts drove him to wave the axe around menacingly, but none of it was well-structured or by any means mistook with real fighting skills. Nick felt a cold but powerful fist stab him in the abs, grounding him completely. He wondered how the hell he got here, from being happy but broke, dumped by his girlfriend, and now slaying demons in an abandoned warehouse.   
  
Through eyes tearing from the pain, Nicholas managed to look up towards the center of the room where a large pedestal held a few awkward looking items, sitting on some kind of mark circled in blood on the ground. Also in this area stood a very large, bare-chested, horn-baring, indigo-skinned creature, of which Lock had in a choke hold while Gene butted it in the face a few times with his sawed-off. The two fought instinctively, ducking and weaving away from the demon's attempts. Lock shot Gene a look and hopped off the beast's back. He sprinted over through axe-battlers and ran up the metal staircase leading to the warehouse's overhang. From there, he unwrapped a wire he had carried in with him, tied one end to an overhanging rafter, and swung down like a jungle man. At its peak swing, Lock let go, flying at the demon. Gene had taken a few shots by then and was down, just in time to see Lock swing over the demon's shoulder, his arm latching behind its head like another choke hold or a classic "noogie," twisting the demon's head 180 degrees in a direction it wasn't meant to go. The abomination managed a quick, squeaking death rattle right before Lock completed the breaking of its neck. Nicholas marveled at it all as he was sprawled on the ground until he felt two pin pricks in his neck. He knew that the vampire had found him laying there, and that he was lost for good. The vamp squawked loudly in pain and let go. Nick managed to release himself and spin around on the ground, just to see his broken armed comrade single-handedly bring the axe down through the vampire's neck. The blood-stained face of the vamp cringed as it turned to dust. Within minutes, the place was silent. There was dust everywhere, a few injured men but nothing life-threatening, and a dead demon corpse.   
  
Through deep inhalations, Lock opened his mouth to say something until he and everyone else realized that the items in the center were in fact glowing. Lock called for everyone to stand back and get ready, and something about the rising. Instead, a hole burst into the ceiling of the warehouse, and the glass windows on the other side of those Lock and Co. burst through shattered, and three strangely dressed individuals crawled through. They wore the same protective garments under their awkward tunics, and they held hands, standing tall. The glowing items in the blood circle began to shake when the three closed their eyes, and suddenly without provocation, the pedestal and its items shot into the air and through the hole in the top. Everyone in the warehouse moved to the center in amazement to see what was happening, including Nicholas. A few hundred yards in the air, and the pedestal went from glowing to exploding, sending a shockwave that lit up the sky and shook the foundation.   
  
"Okay Ky, what was that?" an exhausted Lock asked to the three strangers.   
  
"Well, it wasn't a rising," retorted Ky, the female in the center of the three, one of two with the third being the man on the right. "That was a crude, mystic bomb. Apparently, someone wanted y'all dead. Should I check the volumes of suspects?"   
  
"What is this blood-circle-dealie thing here, then?" Gene asked.  
  
"Nothing. Probably something a vampire made up to make you think this was where the rising was going down," spoke the male of the Coven.  
  
"Naw, man, Larson told us tonight's the night. He was sure of it." Gene slumped against the wall, apparently as confused Nicholas, but perhaps not as psychologically maimed.  
  
"Wait, we've got a whole lot of vampires but no leader. That sire Gene mentioned wasn't here. We have a big dumb demon protecting a mystic bomb that started glowing right after I broke the big guy's neck, and a blood-circle that was simply meant to throw us off the track. Anyone else feel like someone lured us here and kept us busy while the real rising went on somewhere else?" Lock had it all worked out, which made him no less disappointed.   
  
"Yeah well, that was pretty big for a crude bomb," added Ky, "so I'm thinkin  
  
we better get outta here before the cops show up and ask us a buncha questions they don't want answered."  
  
Lock agreed and gave the orders out. Nicholas didn't know why, but he followed.  
  
Twenty-six miles away on the other side of town, a door opened in room 608 in the Luxury Grande Hotel's honeymoon suite. A small-looking man, feeble-though young, walked in jittery. A man of good poise and stature stood tall in the room already, facing away from the door and none-too concerned with what was approaching. As the boy approached further, he noticed the yellow glow of the man's eyes and how the shadows from the window and the grand view of the city cast against ridges on the man's forehead and tightened nose. Shaking slightly, the youth spoke.  
  
"Alright sir. Everything went well with a few small exceptions. You see, five of the gang were dusted looking for the sacrifice, sir, but… um… well, the Hunters were still rounded up in the warehouse, sir."  
  
"How did the militia fair?" the deep voiced groan inquired.  
  
"Dust, sir."  
  
"And the Pyler demon?"  
  
"Dead, as well, sir. Broken neck."  
  
"The bomb?"  
  
"Oh, it blew up just like you said it would, sir."  
  
"And?"  
  
"Well, those damn witches launched it miles in the air right before, sir."  
  
"What of the sacrifice?"  
  
"He was the first to be dusted, sir."  
  
The stoic man shook his head and returned his gaze to the back of the room. In from the shadows a slender female, beautifully nude, flesh flushed in a pale green, stepped from the spot of her rising and into the light streaming from the moon and the city lights cast through the window. She herself looked momentarily feeble, and in a soft, raspy voice, asked, "Docket, my beautiful Docket, where is my sacrifice?"  
  
"Why, he is standing right behind me, precious Ophelia," spoke the stoic man.  
  
The youth's eyes widened and if not for the fear in him he might have been able to shed tears. The beautiful jade stepped forward and placed both her hands on his cold face. With a smile that will be the defining image of the youth's once immortal life, his body exploded to dust which never touched the ground but, in fact, was sucked up into the lungs of the slender female.  
  
"Ahh," she cooed after inhaling the last of the dust, "that's better." 


	2. Hellmouth Series: Scarlet River, Part 2

Hellmouth #2  
"Scarlet River, Part 2"  
  
"Alright, Mr. Geller, a brief synopsis of our group." Nick sat and watched the man speak, a wave of pride circling the orator as the well formed speech left his lips. The orator in question stood tall, a curve of distinguish in his spine, with a nice pair of ironed slacks and a sweater vest over his long sleeve white tee. He seemed laid-back but well groomed.  
  
"Brace yourself," Gene whispered to Nicholas, "he gives this same speech to all the new recruits."  
"Gene, please. Cleveland is a full, industrious city. It is also the home of something we call the Hellmouth. It is the second in recorded history, as the first one fell in a small suburban town in Southern California called Sunnydale. It was recently destroyed, as well as the town with it."  
"Okay. Hellmouth?" Nicholas chimed in.  
"Alright, the Hellmouth is a mystical convergence point for all things. It is the only stable access to one of many 'hell' dimensions. Which one is unknown to any of us, but we are certain through several millennia of studies that it is the point in which anything that can happen, will happen. This is why anything subhuman is drawn here; it's because of the mystical energy that spews out of the Hellmouth."  
"Okay, I kinda get that, but what's with the vampires?" Nick asked, noticing that Gene sat back with a smile on his face. He had heard this too many times, Nick thought.  
"The vampire is the most common demon in this world. There are many different stories and interpretations of stories, but the one I know says that the first vampire was completely demon, not the demon/human hybrid we have now. When all the demons were cast from the world for the coming of man, a vampire bit and drank the blood of a human and then forced the human to drink its blood as well. The vampire was cast out but that human rose again after it was buried, and thus vampirism was spread throughout the world."  
"Larson, man," Gene chimed in, "I know you love flexin your brain and all, but can we get on with this?"  
"Right, well, okay. I'm basically done with the history. Any questions, Nicholas?" Larson asked with a glimpse of hope.  
"Well, you said the first Hellmouth was destroyed. Who destroyed that one? Was it you guys?" Nick asked, wondering what he had gotten himself into.  
"GAWD!!! Why did you have to ask that? We're gonna be here for hours, now!" Gene drawled.  
Larson gave him a dirty look and began, "I am a former member of an organization called the Watchers' Council. We collected information on all things inhuman and supernatural, and most of all, we were in charge of training an entity, possibly the most powerful entity in the world. One girl in all the world, with the skills and strength to fight the vampires, the demons, and the forces of darkness. We called her the Slayer."  
"Job didn't work out for ya?" Nick wondered aloud.  
"Actually, I never got a chance. I'm British by birth, but because being a Watcher is part of my family lineage, and that the Hellmouth is focusing the demons of the world to America, I was the first Watcher that was raised here. After the death of a slayer, a new slayer is chosen. With each new slayer comes a new watcher. I was supposed to be the watcher of the next slayer, which they told me numerous times that because of the most recent slayer's exploits, would have been sometime soon."  
"So why didn't you get a chance?"  
"Well, namely, she never died. Secondly, the Watchers' Council headquarters, as well as the council itself, was destroyed. But that's why we are having a major problem as of late. You see, the Sunnydale Hellmouth has been around for sometime. It didn't grow in strength until the slayer started patrolling there, but when this Hellmouth showed, the Sunnydale one was definitely the stronger of the two, and thus the drawing power was still there. With that Hellmouth in place, we were able to hold off the few demons that made their way here. Now that the Sunnydale Hellmouth his destroyed, however, this one is being overrun with the demons that were dwelling there. Problem is we have no way of finding or contacting either the slayer or her former watcher." Nick went quiet.  
Several miles away on the rooftop of the Luxury Grande Hotel, The jade-skinned Ophelia stands over the edge looking down at the lights across the city. The door to the rooftop opens and out steps Docket, well dressed to match his majesty's provocative white, silky garments. He turned to notice three people, homeless, not to mention dead, their life breath sucked from their bodies, leaned against the edge of the building. "Why, Docket, do these people not live in houses as do their kin?"  
"They are the less fortunate of their species, my dear. For every one that flourishes in wealth, many will end up here. Not to mention that some just don't have it in them to fight for contentment, and instead choose to fight for survival," he explained.  
"Do these beings not care for them? Are they simply exiles?" Ophelia felt confused.  
"The popular choice would be to say that they do care, but most do not. Most truly believe that only the fittest should stand tall in the world, and the weak should have no voice."  
"Why do we not have a voice, then? Are we not stronger, with exceptions to your disabilities as a vampire, than these pitiful, self loathing beings?" Ophelia asked, seemingly appalled at the idea that her demon kind hasn't thought of this before.  
"My dear, dear Ophelia, though pitiful as they are, they are strong in numbers." Docket felt justified in the statement.  
"Than we shall gather our numbers and thin the herd, until our voice is louder than the beating of their drums." She turned back to the overwhelming city view.  
"That is why you were summoned, majesty. That is why I stand before you now as your servant. Command me. Tell me how we can accomplish your vision."  
" We will start with these exiles. We will use them as our voice. We will make a fluent point to the world with a voice more powerful than that of a god's," she preached.  
"How then?" Docket began to sound slightly annoyed at her puzzled speech.  
"We'll slaughter them all. We'll gather your kin, and massacre these exiles. We'll show the human world that these ostracized lives can speak volumes without a voice," she told her disciple, never taking her gaze from the city lights.  
"I'll begin the gathering." Docket turned to leave, a smile from ear to ear.  
"Why? Why did I sign up for this crap?" Nicholas complained, bruised everywhere his skin stretches from the last few days of hand-to-hand combat training Gene has provided. Gene has become immune to the whining, as this is a normal part of Nick's training routine. "Do you mean besides the fact that you are staying on my couch since you got evicted? Well, then, it's because you know what goes bump in the night and you chose to keep that bump from killing anyone else, practically the same reason we all do this." Gene sounded so precise and accurate, as if this is what he told himself to keep from asking the same question.  
"Haven't you guys ever heard of divine will? If this was meant to happen, then we don't have the right to impede on that; then this is all for nothing." Nicholas seemed serious enough.  
"Well, because for every hundred lives we save, God has yet to come down and tell us to cut it out." Gene threw a punch, which he was glad to see that Nick had developed some reflexes since beginning the training. They stopped, exhausted, and sat down on the bench to drink some water.  
"This is a nice place you have here. What is it?" Nick inquired.  
"It used to be the old firehouse here in town. We saved the guy who bought it a few years back and he donated it to us. We have a few guys that stay here, including Larson, in some of the rooms upstairs, but mostly we use this as a training and meeting facility."  
"So most of the things that you guys have come from people you've saved?"  
"Yeah. Some of them are really generous and will help us out with something we were really lacking. Some of them are cheapskates and ask why you saved them and not their dogs. that's a long story. And some of them tell you they are broke and want to sleep on your couch."  
Catching the joke, Nick smiled and asked, "Really?. What happens to them?"  
Gene stood and, in deadpan fashion, said, "They're dead in the first month, on the average." Nick's smile faded.  
Well across town, in a lower-class slum in the city, a battle is waged, courtesy of course of Lock and his band of regulars. They followed a group of about twelve vampires on their haunt and struck when they were led to an open area. Sabrina, one of the regulars, sat on a bench with Jamie. They nuzzled and caressed one another until the vampires had circled them. Jamie had put on a brilliant show of playing the valiant boyfriend, offering to give them everything he had as long as the two weren't hurt. The second the vampires turned from the human faces into their vampiric faces, Lock, Antoine, Matt , and Ky jumped out into the fray. Small vials of holy water slowed the beasts' attacks and short swords were able to hurt them just enough to finish the vampires off with the wooden stakes. Ky, herself being a witch, was able to pop small crackles of sunlight in the night air, not only hurting the demons but distracting them long enough to stay wide open for the stake through the heart. The organized plan of Lock's dwindled the dozen down to three, who started to give way to retreat. Lock ordered his group to follow the vampires, and found quickly how bad a decision that was, then the dozen-to- three vampires ran into about four dozen more. Lock and his group stopped.  
  
"Oh gawd," Lock stuttered, "Ky, you got anything for this?"  
"Nothin boss," Ky stuttered back.  
Out of the mass of vampires stepped one in particular who was dressed surprisingly well for a vampire in the Cleveland slums. He walked forward in a suit as if he were going to a major settlement or an awards ceremony, and he walked in such a smooth manner that one could hardly noticed his ridged, vampiric face.  
"Lock. Locklear Taylor. you are the new leader of the Hunters, right?" asked the gentleman. "You see, I haven't had a chance to meet you yet. Name's Fabini. I run these parts. I had assumed you knew."  
"Well, Fabini," Lock asserted himself, "if I had a dime for every time I heard a vampire tell me he ran wherever he was from, I certainly wouldn't be here right now."  
"No, you misunderstand me," Fabini smiled a coy but straightforward smile, "I mean I really do run these parts. As well as the next few slums over, and the eastern part of downtown. Have you ever heard stories of the vampire mafia? Dreadful name, I know. In fact, we don't like to use it ourselves, but it does give a general point of who we are. I know you guys have to do your job, but I have been able to at least be slightly diplomatic with your last few bosses, and we've been able to work around this nasty little human/vampire rivalry."  
Lock looked over at Ky. The shared a look back and forth, and Matt chimed in, "He's right, Lock. I've heard of these guys. Larson told me once that they had something like a fangy goodfellas or something like that. He said we have a deal not to kill them unless we catch them directly threatening humans," Matt explained, doing no more than confusing Lock and downright angering him that he didn't know about this already.  
When Lock turned again to Fabini, he noticed Fabini talking to one of the three who got away. Fabini let out an angry snarl and looked at Lock again. "Look, I understand that a few of my good men bit on your charade and you staked the majority of them. I lost nine good men tonight. Is there any chance you would be willing to let me spare these last three, assuming they will not be hunting again anytime soon?" Confused, Lock let out an angry snarl of his own and stepped forward, expressing his frustration, "No! They went after two of my men, and regardless of whether or not it was a set-up, they took the bait and one way or another, they will die."  
"I understand," Fabini mumbled. He pulled a sword of his own, a mighty sword that was possibly an ancient relic of some kind, and turned quickly, cleaning the necks of the three violators, each bursting instantly to dust. "Three more. they knew the rules," Fabini whispered to himself. He then turned to his group and loudly exclaimed, "This is why, boys and girls! This is why we train, this is why we work in silence. This world is our free world if only you play by the rules." Fabini turned to Lock and lowered his voice. "Alright, Mr. Taylor, they have met their punishment. Is everything content now?"  
"No, it's not content. I don't care if you've been able to make deals in the past. We don't make deals with vampires. This is not how it is done! Everything is better when it's black and white. Humans are good. Demons are evil. We aren't going to change it up like this," Lock exclaimed, passion behind every word. "I don't think you understand, Mr. Taylor. This deal we made with the Hunters years ago has changed everything for the better. When a vampire joins my fray, he is offered protection and in return, we keep one more demon from killing the innocent humans. By law, we are not allowed to spread vampirism, and that helps your cause as well. Let me put it this way: you and your kind slaughter animals all the time, some for sustenance, others for game. Regardless, you have no way of knowing which animal deserves to die; you don't know if they are pure of heart or pure period. But in the business we are in, we know when someone's soul is caving in because of their sins. We know who deserves to die. We do not prey on the innocent, nor do we protect them. That is your job. We are simply purifying the earth of the bad apples and at the same time curving our hunger and trying to make our post-mortem lives as prosperous as they can be."  
Lock's mouth had already dropped at this point. His mind couldn't comprehend how anyone would deserve to get drained of their blood as a feast to these beasts, and he'd rather not think hard enough to actually see it that way. By the time he made up his mind that this was completely and unnecessarily wrong, Fabini made the best point the had made all night: "And if you cant see it that way, sir, you should see that as of right now, we outnumber you forty-eight to six, so I think that we should decide whether or not to fight you or not, and as of right now, we have better things to do," Fabini said in his trademark straightforward method. Lock glared at him for a moment and stepped aside. The others followed suit as the vampire army stepped through their ranks. Once all the vampire troops were cleared, Fabini straightened his suit and approached Lock, leaning in for a whisper, "Look, pal, we aint joinin teams or anything. We're two different groups with two different approaches to things. But the last few years we've respected each other's boundaries, and that way, nobody gets hurt."  
"Except for the ones that you judge and execute," Lock added with distaste.  
"As opposed to the ones they execute without judgment? Not everything's black and white, my friend. You wanna here more. You can reach me here." Fabini handed Lock a card with a cell phone number on it. Once the vampire had left, Lock screamed in anger. Dwelling in both embarrassment and confusion, he told Ky to dismiss everyone for the rest of the evening.  
Back at the firehouse, Larson sat on a desk in front of Gene and a very broken, exhausted Nicholas. "Okay, Gene asked me to break this down for you one more time, so I will do it quickly and Gene will start to go over weapons. We have a simple pecking order here. Locklear is the head of everything. He is the one the last captain left in charge in his will. Locklear is also the one in charge of the regular units. Regular Units are those in who have a general knowledge of all the field training and fighting skills. They are trained for usage in all weapons but have a general specialty for those weapons they are either assigned to or choose to carry. You, sir, are being trained as a regular, despite us practically throwing everything at you at once. We have three 'second-in-commands.' Myself, simply because I am the Watcher of the group and I run the Research Units, which at least should not ever see field action, though we have been minimally trained. Gene here is another second-in-command. He is in charge of the Axe Units, which is a specialty unit which uses axes and other such sharp melee weapons in order to dispatch the foes. Ky is the last of the three, and she is in charge of the three person Coven Unit, which is basically our last resort if a situation is either too difficult or too suicidal to just throw a team of units out there. So we have Regulars, Axe Units, Coven Units, and Research Units, and you are to take orders from Locklear primarily, and myself, Ky, or Gene if anything else. Any questions?"  
"Naw, stiff, we good," Gene threw out. He led Nicholas to a back hallway and punched in a code to a locked room. The door loudly unlocked and Gene pulled the door open. Inside was a legitimate cache of weaponry, both modern and medieval. Gene went from weapon to weapon so that Nicholas could get a proper feel of everything. "There are several different ways to kill a vampire. The main three are, in no particular order, 1) Wood piercing the heart, 2) Exposure to sunlight, and 3) Beheading. Here are the weapons we use: Here we have the stake. This is a MUST HAVE. Every unit, from the regulars to the bookworms, carry a stake at all times. This is the only weapon that does not have to be turned in at the end of the night. We encourage you to take as many as you want and take them home with you. They're a Hunter's best friend. Easy to use, as long as you remember your left from right and that a vampire's heart is not in the center of its chest. We have a crossbow here, which either Lock or myself has to pass you off on to use. I'm gonna pass you off on it tonight when we get through with this. They are all modified so that it's both quick and easy to load. This is holy water. The water is cheap and it's easily blessed because we have a minister that blesses a bunch of water for us every Wednesday and a guy on the research team that is really good at blowing glass for us. These wont kill unless there is enough of it on a vampire, but this hurts them like acid on human flesh, so it will stop them in their tracks. This right here is a cross, also standard issue for all units, and this is almost like your shield from vampires. They really don't like these things. We got the Axe and the short sword, something you might carry, and these are used for beheading, which is quicker than staking but takes years to master. And right here is something we call Hellfire Bombs. Basically, this is a really powerful incendiary that when the glass around it is cracked and its contents meet oxygen, it erupts into a napalm-y substance. Oh yeah, number four way to dust a vamp: They do not like fire. I know, you can kill most things with fire, but they REALLY don't like it. Let's see. I think that's everything. Any questions?"  
"Yeah. Do I get to carry one of those wooden-tipped bullet guns you have?"  
Across town once again, in the Luxury Grande Hotel Ballroom, many well dressed men and women walk around greeting one another. They smile and some hug, generally being nice to everyone, as if some of them hadn't seen each other in centuries. The doors open wide at the entrance. Docket makes his way across the room with a cloaked figure in tow, as well as a few minions. The group make their way the stage area of the ballroom, and the cloaked person rids herself of the cloak to show off her pale green beauty. Ophelia takes the mic, and as she does so, every person in the room vamps out into their vampiric faces. "Thank you, everyone, for making time for us tonight. Word spreads quickly through this town and if you have come here from down the street to towns over, you have heard my word and felt both my pain and my passion. We will make this world known to us. We will no longer cower when we should be worshipped. We will have our voice heard. Some of you look at me now and see me as nothing more than the Truluk demon that I am, but I will lead you, the most tragic and misunderstood of the demon ranks, to heights unheard of in your eternity- long existences. We have to start at the bottom, and that will be in the southeastern slums of Cleveland. By massacring the lowly spawn of the human race there, we will take our fist steps towards."  
The room blacked out. All the windows in the ballroom caved inwards, shattering into the room and covering the crowd of vampires. Vampires, all dressed in black suits jumped through and lined the west wall. On the middle window climbed a man in a really nice suit, with a proud and benevolent stance, with a smile covering his face. Fabini introduced himself to Ophelia in his normal, cocky manner. "I understand where you're coming from, my dear, and we do need more ambitious demons in the world, especially those who want to inspire me and mine, but this plan aint happenin. Not anytime soon," he spoke, not a skip in his tone or hesitancy in his voice. Ophelia looked at him with her benign, child-like eyes, "Why, pray tell.?"  
"Cuz its stupid! C'mon, Docket, man you used to run with my group. You know very well why this cant happen," Fabini yelled.  
"No, Fabini. I cant do this anymore. I am sick and freakin tired of living in the shadows here. Back in Sunnydale, people were stupid and naïve. They worried about shopping and never had to grow up in an atmosphere where you had to worry about protecting yourself. I've seen this town. It has so much to offer, but there are a lot of people here who have seen the hardships of life and who know how to protect themselves. They know about us, but they haven't seen what we can do, or how dangerous we can be. They don't fear us anymore, and until those who know we exist fear us again, we will always stay in the shadows," Docket finished.  
Fabini smiled and laughed: "Not really. Do you know what our privacy can get us man? Me and my boys, we run have of the city man! Most of you people live in cemeteries, caves, and huts. I live in a beautiful twelve story apartment complex, with a king side bed, beautiful think curtains, cable TV. You all could have that too, without the fighting and the killing and the torture. We are feared and with fear, comes respect. We have assets others cant break down, and that can get us everything. Yeah we can fight and kill all the humans, and that would have been great a few centuries back when everything was 'big dress, hats, and drinking socials,' but now everything is bikinis, baseball caps, and Superbowl Sunday! C'mon folks, these annoying humans finally made a world where we can finally be hedonistic and not be worried about raging mobs with fiery torches. And we can even reap more of the benefits of the world than some of the actual humans themselves! Are you willing to risk all this just to make a point?"  
Back at the firehouse, after three rounds of crossbow practice and another round of hand-to-hand and sword training, even Gene is wiped out against the wall as Nick lays on the ground in his fifteenth minute of trying to catch his breath.  
"So how'd I do?" he asked.  
"Well, hand to hand you did fine. Swords you're getting better, but you still failed the crossbow training," Gene gave him.  
"What do you mean I failed?"  
"You failed. It's a simple concept."  
"I nailed the dummy in his heart every shot for the last two rounds, on all three dummies."  
"Nick, buddy, where is the heart on a body?"  
"Left side of the chest."  
"Where did you hit the dummies?"  
"Left side of the chest, just like you told me."  
"Nick. did you hit them in the chest on their left or your left?"  
"Crap."  
A moment of silence ensued, and Nicholas saw Gene stare off, as if frustrated about something. "I'll pass next time. My aim was still pretty good, considering I was confused and all. So what's with you? You've seem pissed ever since we started with the swords."  
"Naw. not pissed. Just. okay, pissed. No, when we took that break an hour back, I saw the regulars come in without Ky or Lock, and when I went to Jules to see if they've checked in or not, I heard Jules talking to him on her radio."  
"So what? You got something for Jules or something?"  
"Naw, Jules is Lock's woman. I'm married, bro. No, I just overheard him tell her to grab a member of the Reconnaissance Unit. Now I've heard jokes and rumors about a Reconnaissance Unit team, but nobody told me anything about em or if they were even real. Me and Lock have been best friends for six years now ever since he joined the group. Practically brothers. I mean, he was the best man at my wedding and everything. I'd have thought he would have told me something about a Reconnaissance Unit if we had one, especially since I take over if he ever dies. I dunno, man. I'm just talkin."  
During the trading debate between Docket, Ophelia, and Fabini, no one could notice a small, slender figure, covered from head to toe in black, slowly repelling form the ceiling. The graceful figure arched her feminine back in order to hear better the debate from which she hoped would give her more information towards the actions of these creatures. "Look, like I said, you don't have to tell me or my men anything because we know how and why you guys are doing this. I'm just here to let you know that there is a better way to get around all this. My way. And I can respect you all doing what you wanted to do, but I'm here to tell ya, if this deal goes down, me and all my boys are gonna be there to stop ya. We're not in the business of saving humans, but we are in the business of savin our asses, and that's something we are willin to fight and die for if needed. Y'all have a good one," Fabini said in closing. He and his vampire mafia left the place in shambles, and Docket gave the closing words on the subject, inviting everyone still willing to the massacre, beginning at sunset tomorrow. Through the commotion of the vampires leaving and the Hotel manager screaming about the cost of fixing all the windows and getting an electrician down here at this time of night, the dark figure was able to pull herself back up to the hole in the roof.  
"These windows are stained glass! They could cost thousands of dollars!" the hotel manager kept screaming at Docket as the cloaked female exited to her suite, "and I have so many people in the hotel calling me about the power outage that I cant even use the phone to call an electrician out here to fix it!. And you even put a hole in my roof?!" At that, Docket turned and noticed a hole in the roof from which he hadn't seen one of Fabini's vampires pop through. I would have noticed a vampire coming through the ceiling, he thought. He knew exactly what had come through that hole, and the idea ruptured an animalistic growl in him that shut the hotel manager up real fast. Docket pushed him to the side and walked out.  
Outside of said hole, Lock sat on the ceiling as he and Ky helped her role up her rappelling cords: "Alright, Jenn, what did you find out?"  
"Massacre. Bums. Southwest slums. The Risen is a Truluk demon, calling herself Ophelia. Army of fangs with her. Starts tomorrow at sunset," Jenn nonchalantly informed.  
"Wait, I'm still not getting this: when did we get a stealth unit?" Ky asked.  
"Reconnaissance Unit, and for six years now. Thanks Jenn, you can head on home now. We only use them in case of emergency because the whole team trains for the Olympics yearly. We use them as spies when we have no other way to go."  
"Does Gene know about them?"  
"No."  
"Why not?"  
"Because he didn't have to know. The only reason you know is because you were here with me when we actually had to use them."  
"He's gonna be pissed if he finds out."  
"Naw. he knows the game. At least he should. He knows that there is some need-to-know stuff going down. C'mon, nobody told me we had a treaty with the fang mafia down there."  
"Still though, Lock, with times being as hard as they've been, you shouldn't keep anything from any of us."  
"Everything will be fine. But this is definitely something we have to worry about," Lock opened his cell phone and radioed Jules at the firehouse, "Yeah, hey sweetie. This is an emergency. Call all units on hand to meet in three hours at the base. Call all their jobs and say that they'll all be out sick today. Have Larson get started on finding me everything on Truluk demons. We get started tomorrow before sundown." 


	3. Hellmouth Series: Scarlet River, Part 3

Hellmouth #3  
"Scarlet River, Part 3"  
  
The Luxury Grande Hotel manager hasn't complained for a few hours now. Everything has been pretty stagnant since he quieted himself down. He seems content enough considering since all his guests had left he had a crazy session where every room in the hotel had been snatched right up. The lights have just come back on in the building, and none of the new clients seemed to mind that they were off in the first place. He seemed right as rain, and everything has worked itself out. His lobby is full, everybody seems happy enough, and with the exception of a few missing bellboys who just happened to not want to show up for work today, things couldn't be better. The manager stepped into the middle of the lobby, gleefully nodding to a few of the passerby's, and took in a deep, exasperated breath of gratification. He turned to notice the last remains of sunlight glimmer out over the rooftops of downtown, when he noticed a carrying voice, something like a high tone yell at low volume. A fire alarm, maybe? Police sirens? All these ideas flashed through his brain until they were all drown out with the knowledge that this noise was coming from inside the hotel. The whole lobby must have heard it as well, because they all stopped dead in their tracks. "Don't worry everyone," the manager choked out, "I'll find out what's going on here." Suddenly, all eyes were on the manager, and all eyes happened to be glowing yellow, highlighting their growing canine teeth. They all moved toward him, and then past him, without thinking twice about the little man whose pants were now soaked. A figure floated through the lobby from the staircase, one who the little man recognized as the cloaked figure he spent all night last night screaming at. Her cloak gone and her emerald skin exposed, she moved closer to him. He found it impossible to move despite the fear and forward intention he had to run away. Ophelia made it to him and gently wiped his brow. While once he found it impossible to move he now found impossible to breathe. He choked an apology out before his skin and vital organs dried and shriveled. The manager fell to the ground, lifeless. Ophelia smiled with his former contentment and followed her army out the door.  
Lock takes pot shots with his crossbow at the target on the wall as all his troops get ready. Sunset is in two hours, and everyone is scurrying to find a weapon and warm up. Gene comes walking out with Nicholas. Nick complains about how tight the long-sleeve mock turtle neck they are forcing him to wear is.  
"Look, bro, I'm gonna explain it to you like this. This right here is the greatest shirt you'll ever wear in this unit because it protects you from everything. It is a light-weight Kevlar mesh, and it's unique in the fact that it is light, it breaths, and it protects you from sharp fangs," Gene sounded a little annoyed.  
"No way. I was wearing this when y'all grabbed me the first time and I still got bit," Nicholas whined.  
"Whadaya want? It's light weight mesh. It ain't gonna stop bullets and it aint gonna stop fangs, but it will slow them down enough so that you wont get bitten if you react fast enough. Plus, Lock made it the only standard issue part of our uniform, so you don't have a choice."  
"Damn, man. if this place has almost no rules, then why do all the rules we do have have to suck?" Nick walked off to warm-up. Lock laughed and walked over to Gene, who was sitting in a chair in the front area of the training room. "If I had any idea how much fun it was gonna be to train him, I swear I wouldn't have pushed him on you," Lock began.  
"No, you would have pushed him on Larson."  
"Yeah, well, that's what we don't pay him for."  
"Lock, man, why didn't you tell me there was a recon group?"  
"It wasn't really pertinent. These guys don't see field action at all. They just spy for us, and we never really had a reason to use them since I was made captain here. Honestly, it's a trade secret that just slipped my mind until I actually needed them. Is it really that important to you?"  
"Well, you already named me as your successor, so if something happens to you, how was I supposed to know that we had a recon team?"  
"Larson knew. He is in charge of training my successor if I'm happen to be killed before I train you myself."  
Gene stood and started to walk away when Lock jumped up and joined him. "Look, Gene, you know you're like a brother to me and I wouldn't hold anything back from you on purpose. The recon team isn't important at all because we never really use them. If it were life an death, you know I would have told you." Gene smirked and looked at Lock. Lock continued, "C'mon man. are we cool? How are me and you supposed to kill this Ophelia thing if I'm worried about you conveniently missing her with your axe and hitting me?"  
"Cuz you know I'd hit you with it regardless after the fight was over," Gene retorted. They stared at each other until Gene smiled and Lock punched him in the shoulder jokingly. Larson came running into the room, frantically looking for Lock. "Locklear," he began, "I found everything you were looking for!"  
"ALL UNITS, GET IN HERE!!!" Gene called.  
When they all set up, Larson began: "Alright, this demon is one that was supposedly extinct, and I'm guessing that since the ritual was a rising and not a summoning, it actually was extinct until now. It is called a Truluk demon. She was the last known warrior queen of her people before her species was killed off, and has the ability to suck the breath out of you. She absorbs all the oxygen in your body through skin-to-skin contact, and even if she doesn't hold on long enough, the slightest touch can be disorienting at best. She can feed off of vampires as well, and that sustains her life but feeding on humans gives her strength."  
"That means that nobody goes near her. Only Gene and myself will be in reaching distance of her at all time, got it?" Lock checked everyone's eyes. They all looked directly into his with the utmost respect, something he has grown to respect himself. The only exception was Nicholas, who tried to stay as still as he could but wasn't doing very good at it. He caught eyes with Lock and straightened up. Lock nodded his head and walked towards him. He placed his hand on Nick's shoulder and turned to the rest of the group. "Everybody ready? Everyone called their families?" Silence filled the room. "Alright Lock, sunset was four minutes ago. We gotta get," Gene reminded him. In a low whisper, Lock turned back to Nicholas and smiled, saying, "Your first official mission and it's to stop a massacre. You havent even had a chance to hunt yet. We need all the men we can get, but if you're not ready, I und."  
"No," Nick said, voice trembling, "I'm game. I haven't eaten anything today and I've thrown up four times. I think I'm empty."  
"You'll be good. We go to an all night diner after every massacre, and I'll grab your bill," Lock smiled. "Look, stay next to me when they start the charge, and then stay with Antoine the rest of the way. You're coming to back us up on the second line. Don't be a hero."  
"I think I'm safe on that one. Hey, though, answer me this," Nick clamed himself for a moment as he caught Lock's arm, "Out of my own curiosity, why do we do this? Why are we risking our lives tonight?"  
Lock smiled low and soft: "You'll see."  
The sun is officially dead the moon shines the light over the southwest slums. Though usually populated and police-less, the area was completely deserted. Ophelia felt a tingle of sadness and annoyance when she realized that the homeless weren't going to just line up to be slaughtered. No bother, she thought, as the thought of the hunt may in fact entice her army further. "Stop!" Ophelia yelled, obstructing her entire army. Suddenly a line from both sides of the street burst into flame, showing a hundred-long line of flaming barrel torches stretching for a mile, give or take a few feet. Out of the alleyways stepped forward Fabini and his army into the amber and golden glow of the main street of the slums. He was well-dressed as always, and his group wore solid black, as was their fashion statement on big missions such as this. They stepped to the battle lines and flexed muscles, comparing their dozen vampires to Ophelia's forty-strong fleet. He didn't even blink.  
In one of the several vans Lock has used to transport the team to its destination, Nick notices the Axe unit with the broken arm sitting in front of him. "Hey man," Nick began, tapping the guy on his good shoulder, "I'm Nicholas."  
"I've seen you around. They call me Mack."  
"I know, but I wanted to introduce myself, you know."  
"Strange time for intros, brotha," Mack smiled, looking off.  
"Yeah, well, this really wasn't supposed to be an intro. It's a 'thank you.' I believe you have that broken arm there because you were watching my back, and then you saved my life right after it got broken too."  
Mack looked at him strangely. "At the warehouse?" Nick added. The strange blank stare remained. "During the rising?" Nick added again.  
"Oh, geez, man," Mack laughed, "Stick with us long enough and you'll find yourself in a lot of warehouses saving a lot of people."  
"Yeah, but do most of them join the cause right after?" Nick laughed lowly.  
"Yes, actually. Most people here got rescued by us and wanted to help out in whatever way they could."  
"Don't they care that they might die soon?"  
"Sure they do. They are human. They have emotions. They are just as afraid as you are. But better we die than the whole world, right?"  
"I guess, but if this problem is so bad, you'd think the government would have a way of stopping these things and would train people to do this kind of stuff flawlessly. I mean, why do you want to do it specifically?" Nicholas asked, voice still shaking with doubt.  
Mack looked at him for a second. He then reached in his pocket and pulled out a stake. Something was noticeably rubber banded around it. Mack took the rubber band off and unfolded what was there, handing it to Nicholas. It was a picture; it was a picture of Mack, his beautiful dark- skinned wife and two angelic black daughters. It was a gorgeous picture of a typical happy African-American family at a church banquet. Mack had his two little girls in his large arms, growling like an animal as the little girls giggled joyfully and his wife looked on with cheerful attention. Nick looked at the picture for a long time, and finally looked up at Mack's eyes. Strained, weary, and concerned, his eyes unfolded volumes of his character.  
"If I don't, then I cant be sure they're safe." Nick handed back the picture.  
"Okay, so it wasn't a bluff," Fabini joked, looking face to face with Docket, his former protégé. "Well, I kinda figured you weren't. You've always been pretty true to your word, Docket, my boy."  
"It is our destiny to rule, Fabini," Ophelia spoke, "We are just taking the first needed steps."  
"So you've had twenty-four hours to think about everything I've said and you are still willing to lose it all?"  
They didn't say a word. The stood steady and with full resolve. "Stand down, boys," Fabini ordered his group. The twelve vampires spread away, clearing an open lane for Ophelia and her army, "If they know what they are sacrificing in this, then we don't have any right to stand in their way." Ophelia's army began their march down the torch-lighted street.  
"Alright, everyone. Zero-hour's here, so lets get into positions! Axe Units in front, scattered positions. Regulars, two lines, standing down." Lock continued barking orders while Nick contemplated making a liar out of himself by vomiting again. Gene stepped up to him, concerned, "Hey man, you're looking pretty green here. You gonna be alright?"  
"Gene, you've told me straight all week, so I'm expecting the same right about now. Are we gonna die now?"  
"A wise optimist once said that to look death in the face and live is to achieve all things," Gene said, forcing Nick into a smile until he continued, "I choose to be a pessimist, so yes, we're all gonna die in about two minutes. You can chew on that later on at breakfast tomorrow morning, and be pleasantly surprised to hear your heartbeat."  
"Okay, great, I've got the 'wetting myself' part of the ordeal over with. But tell me, before we get drained of our air or blood, why do you do this?"  
Gene closed his eyes and thought. "Well, because that wise optimist I just told you about was my grandmamma. She was right about that and she told me that I would do great things for everybody in this world someday. I really don't want to make her a liar. That would be selfish, and so would turning my back now."  
Moments later, Ophelia and her army had trekked half a mile spotting homeless people hiding in the alleys. They were looking around, eyes wide as if they were kids in a candy store. "Okay, boys and girls," Docket began, "as beautiful a buffet as this is, it is still supposed to be a massacre, so we herd them in the middle first, then we feed on our majesty's leftovers."  
"Wait," Ophelia squeaked. She pointed into the distance, fifty yards away, at a line of vans blocking the street and three robed Wiccas standing on the roofs of said vans. They each held clasped hands and were easily recognized by the vampires as Hunters. A chorus of growls echoed across the empty streets.  
"The witches," Docket exclaimed.  
"They manipulate the dark arts of the human race. They certainly can hold no effect on ours." Ophelia spoke clearly with confidence.  
"Though weak as they are, my liege, humans do have almost infinite potential. We should proceed carefully."  
"They seem to be merely shielding our initial attack, Docket. Can you not feel the mystic barrier surrounding us now? It must be as long and wide as our journey here," she spoke.  
"Yes, dear. You twenty, charge the witches. The rest of you, form lines and follow in with a second assault."  
The first twenty charged, and upon reaching about fifteen yards from the witches, the nine axe units broke from the invisibility field the Coven put on them, each taking a single slice through the neck of one vampire each. The first wave of dust filled the air, disorienting the vampires charging enough to keep them from noticing the van doors opening and an outpour of the eleven regulars, throwing holy water bottles like grenades into their prey. Growls filled the sky as Docket called for a full charge for the rest of the fang army. Lock called for a wave of hellfire bombs, and the four that they had poured down on the rushing back-ups, causing a few to turn and flee. Coming from behind Ophelia's army was an army of thirteen, led by Fabini himself. "Sorry, fellas," he said as his vampires dusted the runaways, "but sometimes you gotta make friends with the enemy for the greater good. I gave y'all a chance."  
Ophelia wailed in outrage, and grabbed two of Fabini's vamps, dusting them and absorbing them. She turned at Fabini himself, eyes glowing red, and she took a flying axe to her back. She stood up again, staggered, and pulled the axe from her back, which was followed up by a kick to the back of the head. Gene and Lock stood in front of Ophelia, both ready to fight as Fabini waltzed over between them. She took the axe in her hand, courtesy of Gene, and threw it behind her. She erupted and charged at them.  
The flying axe flew through the air and was heading straight for the poor, unfortunate soul on his first mission ever. Nicholas was able to duck under a fierce punch and stake his assailant, successfully dusting his first vampire when he saw the axe flying at him. A nanosecond before impact, gravity seemed to suck in and repel the axe, causing it to stop and sink directly into the ground below. Nick held all breath long enough to look up and see Ky, fully extended with a look of sheer joy that her spell kept Nick alive. "Ky," Kelsey started yelling, "We need you back here! Me and Aimee cant keep this field up without you. you're our strongest link!"  
"We don't need the barrier anymore. This battle's already contained and Fabini came through on his part. Just start casting protection spells while I handle business down here." She jumped down from the van and hurried over to find Docket about to sink his fangs into John of the Regular Units. She froze him for an instant, long enough for John to break free. Docket turned to catch eyes with the witch. He smiled and lunged at her.  
She ducked a punch and returned one of her own. Docket was caught off-guard and staggered back. He wiped the blood from his jaw and flung a roundhouse kick her way. This kick was just a distraction though, to keep her from noticing the knee he brought down on her face. She lost a tooth, and immediately conjured a spell to set the tooth back in place. The blood she couldn't get rid of, nor the intense pain in her cheek. A tear fell down her other cheek and she returned a growl back fiercer than Docket's own. She sprang up and connected with a kick to Docket's shoulder and then fired a small sunlight bolt, flash-burning him and again making him draw back. She conjured two mystic barriers which she used offensively, smashing them against his face. Upon hitting the ground, Docket looked up into Ky's eyes, which were now streak black completely. She whispered a small incantation, and then a small ball of energy formed. She concentrated it, causing it to change from a fiery red and orange to a white hot blue, and then blew on it. It fired from her hands with exponential speed and dug right into the vampire's torso. Docket looked into Ky's eyes as they changed from black again to hazel. She fell down into a sitting position, exhausted from the casting, but managed a smile to Docket before he was incinerated from the inside. His eyes began to bleed and his skin imploded, turning to dust as the fire, having run out of things to burn, extinguished.  
Each attempt to stop Ophelia up to this point has ended with someone taking a kick to the face. Despite her enigmatic, feminine figure, she was quite nimble and a wonderful fighter. Lock went in for a punch, which Ophelia ducked and grabbed him by the throat. His "armor" protected most skin-to-skin contact, but her thumb massaged the underside of his chin. Gene's gloved fist met her cheek and Lock was released. He saw stars and colors passing for what should be solid objects, and he realized that this must be the disorienting effect that Larson was talking about. He realized this too late however, because by the time he knew he wasn't seeing straight, Ophelia had swatted Gene away and was following through with a foot to Lock's jaw! Lock flew several feet backwards when Fabini jumped in and delivered a few quick hits and pranced back behind Ophelia's punch to hammer in on her backside. She cut a forward somersault, nailing Fabini beneath his jaw as she brought her forward foot down on the back of Gene's head as he rose. Her three combatants were down. They were now easy pickings. She stopped and took a deep breath before she were to finish Lock off and realized how silent it had gotten. She turned to see a legion of dust floating away with the low-lying fog that had risen during the events of the evening. Above that dust were the Hunters. Several of Fabini's men had been dusted, but they stood as well; side by side with their nemeses. Some were injured, granted, and some were unconscious. The rest of them were aiming all weapons at her. Six crossbows were aimed at her, a few stakes at ready, and the rest had axes cocked-back to throw. Nicholas stepped forward out of the crowd of Hunters and tossed an axe high in the air, above and beyond the jade demon. Her eyes followed the flying blade, even as it landed a few feet behind her, stuck directly in the ground. She followed the shiny blade, all the way to the tip of the handle, when she saw a hand grab hold of it. Her eyes followed the figure's hand, up his arm, and caught eyes with her assailant. She was witness even when Lock swung the blade, decapitating her. By the time her head hit the ground with her body soon following, she no longer had the voice she held so dear, nor would she be witness to anything else.  
A moment of silence filled the area as everyone quietly took in the moment, making sure that no one was particularly hurt. Lock took a few steps forward, past the extended hand of Fabini looking for some help up, and grabbed hold of Gene's hand. The two stabled one another and walked back towards their group to check on everyone. Fabini made it to his feet himself and wiped the dust and grime from his nice suit, now wrinkled and messy. His vampires walked their way back to him, yet not as celebratory as the Hunters were.  
"Wait! This is jacked up, fellas! Six of my men were wasted tonight! SIX! How many of you guys are dead? NOBODY! I know y'all have got this whole 'nightly street war' thing going for you, but my guys aren't soldiers and they could have used somebody watching their backs! Would that have been to hard to ask? LOCKLEAR? ARE YOU LISTENING TO ME?! SIX OF MY GUYS ARE DEAD NOW!!!"  
Lock grabbed a crossbow from one of his regulars and let a bolt out, connecting through the heart of the vampire next to Fabini. The two vampires caught eyes before the one turned into dust. Fabini's mouth dropped. "There's lucky number seven," Lock quipped, giving the bow back to his regular. He then grabbed a cross and approached Fabini, stopping with five yards between them, at which point he held the cross up.  
"I'll be blunt," Lock said, a low tone and harsh nature to his tone, "tonight was not the union of two groups nor was it the combining of a profitable situation. It was two different groups with two different methods, who happened to have similar agendas. That's it. I don't care what kind of arrangement you had with the captains before me, but this my team, my regime, and we will not call a truce with the 'vampire mafia' or whatever you call yourselves. Truth is, I wanna dust you all now, but you helped us out tonight and that earns you a fighting chance against us. I suggest you take it." Lock pulled out a glass vial of holy water and cracked it on the cement in front of the group, causing them to fall back. Fabini smiled and put back on his hat. He tipped the bill and swayed off with his remaining five, a reaction that did more to make Lock uneasy than it did settle him.  
"Okay, so what's the status report?" Lock asked, turning to Gene.  
"Nothing too bad. I think Art's got two broken ribs and Jamie is definitely concussed."  
"You're mom's concussed." Jamie returned. Gene shot him a smile.  
"All in all, everything seems good," Lock sighed with relief, "So you feelin a late dinner or an early breakfast?"  
"I dunno. I haven't slept in two days, so I would feel a little awkward eating breakfast and crashing for twelve hours.I'll go ahead and lead the clean-up." Gene walked off laughing.  
Lock thanked him and walked over to Nicholas. "You did a good job tonight. How you feelin?"  
"Well, aside from almost getting an axe to the face? Well, I have a splitting headache, my jaw hurts, and I twisted the hell out of my ankle."  
"Axe to the face, huh? Well, it could have been worse. The axe coulda won."  
Nicholas gave him a dirty look. Lock laughed, "So, did you at least learn anything, tonight?"  
"Yeah. be afraid of Ky. I mean, did you see the way she fried that head vamp?"  
"I don't have to. She does it every hour on the hour about three days every month. It stops being impressive the first time you forget to buy the chocolate fudge ice cream."  
"Yeah, but Lock. you did say I would know why we do this by the end of tonight, didn't you? Cuz right now I'm just seeing a lot of guys who were fortunate not to die tonight," it seemed almost painful for Nicholas to form the words.  
"You're right. We do a lot and we don't often enough get reminded of what we're fighting for. You haven't seen everything, though," Lock placed his hand on Nick's shoulder and held it there for a moment. He then took it off and walked to the van, opened the door, and pulled out a sack. He motioned Nicholas into one of the alleyways and down the backside of the next street. The two stopped in front of a pile of boxes in the back alley. Lock mouthed a few soft, whispered welcomes and pulled the boxes to the side. Sitting there, trembling, was a mother and her two children, all homeless. They shook from fear and from cold, and they didn't even have hope left to recognize Lock when he welcomed them softly. Lock knelt and reached into the sack. He pulled out two loaves of bread and a pack of cheese, as well as two blankets and some wool shirts. He placed the gifts in front of them and told them that everything was fine and they would be safe now. He made the woman promise him that they would leave these parts soon, and she did, but Lock didn't believe them and neither did Nicholas. Regardless, Lock smiled and stood once more, walking Nick down and back to the edge of the side alley. They turned and looked at the family, eating as if for the first time in days, and Nicholas felt proud of himself, for the first time since he went out with Tiffany on the town. He shook his head, realizing that this was the first pride he ever had that actually meant something; it was the first pride that was going to last beyond all others.  
"That lady is Miss Betty Crawford. Those are her sons Matt and Donnie. They don't remember me, and I wouldn't expect them too. With everything they've been through, I'm insignificant. There are tons of them out there, Nick. Faces. Not just homeless, but people who aren't able to protect themselves like me or like you're being trained to be. At this point, a stake goes through a vampire's heart or a demon gets killed at our hands, and all you see is dust and bodies. I see her face. I see all the faces that are safe one more night because I made a difference. The people we save could be homeless, or for all we know, they could be steps away from finding the cure for cancer. They each have their place in the world. My place, Gene's place. it's here. Same as everyone who fought by your side today. At least the ones with heartbeats."  
They stopped for a moment and looked down the alley to see Gene and the others cleaning up the debris. They absorbed the moment, with everyone working together to make sure everyone's safe, and Lock took a deep breath, sitting down in the alley against the wall. Nicholas joined him and Lock continued, "I can respect your question Nick, but only because you're new to the game and I've asked the same question myself before. But the answer is easy, and you should know by now. You can call it cynical if you like, but I believe it just like everyone else. Why do we do this?." Lock took a deep breath, stood, and extended his arm to Nick. He pulled him up and continued the hand grasp, ".because this world is huge, and every now and then, you'll find something that's more important than your own life. And that's everyone else." 


End file.
